


the man behind the mask

by csmithman



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Gen, brett finds out who daredevil is, brett is a good guy, but also a detective, but so are friends, matt is bad at secrets, post-season 3, secret identities are important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 18:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16434374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/csmithman/pseuds/csmithman
Summary: Brett knows who Daredevil is. This leads to an awkward conversation with Matt.





	the man behind the mask

**Author's Note:**

> Okay after *just* finishing season 3 it really struck me that there's no way Brett doesn't know Matt's secret by this point. I mean, they interact all the time, and Foggy kind of gave it away. Plus, Brett is literally a detective, it's his job to figure things out.
> 
> So this bit my brain and wouldn't let go until I wrote it. I hope you enjoy, this is my first time writing for Daredevil!

Matt hid in the shadows, as usual, trying to keep out of sight. He still hadn’t managed to recreate the suit, so his black athletic wear was all he had to work with. The mask in particular was starting to bother him, and he would really prefer the protection Melvin’s work gave him, but beggars certainly couldn’t be choosers, and he still felt badly about what had happened with Melvin.

In fact, a lot of things were weighing on his mind lately. Melvin, Poindexter, Nadeem… there was a lot on his conscience after the Fisk fiasco, and he was struggling to process his guilt. With Father Lantom gone, it wasn’t as easy to work things through as before. Sister Maggie tried her best, but they still had a hard time sorting out where they stood with each other.

One good thing was happening, though. Agent Nadeem’s family was finally in the clear and could return to their lives, or what was left of them, at least. Nelson, Murdock, and Page had done fantastic work ensuring that Seema had gotten the full extent of Ray’s life insurance, and Foggy in particular had ensured that the family had all the resources available to them. Not wanting to return to the home where Ray was murdered, they had moved into the city to have more life around them. They were moving forward, putting their troubled past behind them.

Sami was young. He would overcome. Matt knew it would be difficult, knew well the struggle of having your father die trying to be a good man. But he also knew that Sami was strong, and would live a full life, one hopefully better than Matt’s.

But Seema worried him. He wasn’t as close with Nadeem’s widow as Foggy, but in their legal meetings had seen that the woman continued to struggle with her husband’s death. When someone you care about dies and the last words you exchanged were unpleasant… it’s hard to move on.

So Matt had taken to watching over Seema. Making sure she was okay. Making sure none of Fisk’s cronies decided to take “revenge” for Ray’s final heroic acts. Making sure that the Nadeems were finally, truly free.

It was on one of his nightly check-ins that he ran into a complication.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who checked in on Seema and Sami. Apparently, during their stay at Mrs. Mahoney’s house, they had formed a bond with Brett’s kindly mother, and apparently they kept up communication even after the Nadeems had returned to their normal life.

So now Matt was hiding in the shadows, hoping to avoid being seen --  _ again  _ \-- by Brett Mahoney. Unfortunately, the detective seemed to have a sixth sense for Daredevil, because he managed to sneak a peek.

As Mrs. Mahoney and Brett were about to enter the Nadeems’ apartment, Brett caught sight of Matt before he could move out of the way. He made no mention, but Matt could hear his heartbeat pick up and sense the almost inaudible sigh. Brett ushered his mother inside and said he’d be a minute. Matt resigned himself to a confrontation.

He wasn’t disappointed.

“You know it’s generally considered creepy for you to hang out and watch people, right?”

Brett approached the alcove where Matt was hiding, weariness evident in his voice even if Matt couldn’t see it in his face.

“I just wanted to check in on them. Make sure they’re okay. Make sure no one tries to mess with them. They’ve been through enough… it’s the least I could do.”

“You know they don’t blame you, right?” Brett sounded a lot more sympathetic than he usually did speaking with Daredevil, but to be fair, the last time they’d interacted, Brett had vindicated him in Fisk’s apartment, so maybe the detective no longer hated him.

“I blame myself, and that’s enough. Nadeem was a good man. I should have protected him better.” It was the truth.

“Man, Nelson has told me about the Catholic guilt thing, but you really do take it to an extreme, you know?”

Matt froze.

_ What? _

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered, moving to walk away,  _ quickly _ .

“Come on, man. Don’t play like that. You know, you’re annoying enough to make Nelson look good, and _ that’s _ saying something.”

“Stay safe, detective,” Matt warned as he prepared to climb out the window at the end of the hallway.

“Wait a minute…” Brett mumbled. Then: “Murdock!” He somehow yelled the name quietly, which Matt was grateful for. He paused, one leg out the window. “Yeah, I know who you are. Can we not pretend anymore?”

Did no one grasp the concept of the secret identity? It’d been a rough time lately, balancing the two sides of himself. It was bad enough his friends and family knew, but with his arch nemesis discovering who he was and now his somewhat rival/somewhat ally on the police force…

Shit. He was  _ technically _ guilty of breaking the law… a  _ lot _ . And now a  _ cop  _ knew who he was. This… could go badly. Damage control?

He climbed back in the window, but neglected to move any closer.

“How long have you known?”

“I’ve had my suspicions for a while. You don’t bother to disguise your voice, like, at  _ all _ , man. I know I deal with your other half more often, but you two assholes show up in my precinct enough that I’m familiar with how you sound, Murdock.”

Matt winced. He hadn’t thought that one through, he guessed.

“But I only really knew after the Fisk situation. Hate to say it, but Nelson gave it away. Came to warn me that “someone” might try to kill Fisk, and that he really wanted to stop that “someone” from making a huge mistake.”

Matt could sense Brett using air quotes -- did he not realize that Matt  _ was  _ actually blind? But then again, he could tell that there were air quotes, so maybe it didn’t matter.

“Between you suddenly showing up after months of absence and Foggy caring enough about someone to stop me from letting you murder that bald asshole, it wasn’t hard to put the pieces together. I  _ am  _ a detective, you know.”

“Yeah,” Matt countered, “and I’m a vigilante. I know how you feel about that.”

Brett sighed.

“Listen, Murdock. At first, yeah, I hated the “Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.” You’ve been a real pain in my ass from day one --  _ should’ve expected that from Nelson’s partner _ ” he muttered under his breath. “But you’ve also done a lot of good for this city. And I didn’t forget that you got me this promotion. Sure, I earned it, but you gave me the push I needed. We can work together, you know.”

“I’m breaking the law,  _ detective _ ,” Matt emphasized.

“Shit, you  _ want  _ me to arrest you?” He could hear the exasperation in Brett’s voice. That… was a lot more familiar for the dealings between detective and vigilante.

“Obviously I don’t, or I would have let you arrest me years ago.” Matt heard Brett grumble about  _ “would’ve made my life easier,” _ but chose to ignore it. “I just don’t understand why you’re being so accommodating, all of the sudden. We haven’t always been on the best of terms.”

“Listen,” Brett sighed. “I know we’re not always gonna see eye to eye. I’m an officer of the law, and you’re a vigilante. You’ve done some messed up shit over the years. But you’ve also saved a lot of lives. Saved mine, a time or two. You’re one of the good ones. And you didn’t kill Fisk when you had the chance. So I know I can trust you to work… well,  _ closer  _ to the law than other vigilantes. I just think it’d be easier if we understood each other, you know?”

Well. This was going… very differently than Matt had expected. His dynamic with Brett over the years -- in the suit or as a lawyer -- hadn’t been very pleasant. He knew Brett was a good guy. One of the best, in fact. A real hero.

But Matt never realized that people knowing his secret --  _ certain  _ people, at least -- could lead to better relationships and an easier time doing his job. He was always so afraid of people knowing the truth, never wanting to tell anyone, that he never considered the benefits.

Man, Maggie was  _ really  _ gonna rub his face in this one.

But it was worth it, to have a guy like Brett Mahoney in his corner. His corner that was slowly growing full, but in a good way.

Secret identities are important, after all. But it’s always nice to have allies.

Matt finally drew closer to where Brett had been keeping his distance during the conversation. He felt the other man tense, but purposefully relax his muscles. That was a good sign. Matt stuck out his hand for Brett to shake.

“As always, you are a fountain of wisdom, detective. Maybe we can help each other out, from time to time.”

“Now, don’t go getting all sarcastic with me. I get enough of that from Nelson, I don’t need it from you, too,” Brett quipped. But Matt could tell Brett was smiling as he shook his hand, firmly and steadily. “You’re still a pain in my ass, Murdock. But we can do a lot better together.”

“Agreed.”

They stood there a moment longer, but before it could get awkward, Brett took charge.

“For starters, why don’t you come in and have dinner with us? You know Seema wouldn’t mind, she thinks Nelson and Murdock are heroes for vindicating Ray. And you know my mother loves you.”

“Another time, perhaps. There’s work to be done tonight.”

Brett rolled his eyes, but smirked as he let Matt leave.

“Just don’t ruin my dinner with any awkward police calls, ya hear? It’s my mom’s favorite night, and I don’t feel like explaining to her that I have to leave “family time” because Nelson’s idiot partner up and caused some sort of trouble.”

“I’ll do my best, detective,” Matt laughed, “but I make no promises. You should tell the criminals, though, Bess is scary enough that some of them might go straight!”

“Yeah, yeah, get out of here Murdock!” Brett laughed though, so Matt felt better as he flipped out of sight.

Maybe it would be a good thing, Brett knowing who he was. Maybe he’d get a decent friend out of this; Foggy spoke highly of Brett. The detective was honorable, and it would be nice having a cop on his side.

He still wasn’t sure how he felt about so many people knowing Matt Murdock was the man behind the mask. But with each reveal that turned out  _ not  _ to ruin his life, he started feeling better about it.

He had a lot going for him at the moment. With Fisk out of commission, crime was easier to deal with. Nelson and Murdock were back, with the excellent addition of Page. He could have his friends and balance his other life. Hell, he even somehow found his  _ mother _ .

Yeah, Matt thought as he flipped from one building to the next, a ready ear searching for crime. Things could be much worse.


End file.
